No. 1-ranked Tigers roll past Wallace-Rose Hill

By From staff reports
Published in Sports on November 9, 2008 9:28 AM

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TEACHEY -- No. 1-ranked James Kenan completed its third consecutive unbeaten regular-season campaign and seized its third straight Class 1-A Super Six Conference crown with a 35-14 thrashing of archrival Wallace-Rose Hill.

The Tigers (11-0 overall, 5-0 SS) secured the No. 1 seed for the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-AA (large-school) playoffs next Friday.

Despite the final result, the Dawgs (2-8, 0-5) jumped ahead 7-6 late in the first quarter. But James Kenan answered three minutes later when Jamar Rogers reached the end zone for the second time. Rogers finished with 151 yards rushing on 15 carries.

"We scored first, but they came right back and scored and got the extra point to take the lead," said Avent Jr. "Our kids responded well, and got the lead back on the next drive."

The Tigers jumped on top 14-7 and never looked back.

After a one-yard sneak by quarterback Shawon Darden gave James Kenan some breathing room, Avent Jr. and his staff were content to run the football and erase the clock.

Eight different Tigers carried the ball in the victory.

"We got some other guys involved as the game went along," said Avent Jr. "A lot of our kids play both ways, so we wanted to get them some rest when we saw them getting tired on one side of the ball or the other."

Kyle Bostic paced James Kenan's defense with 13 stops, while Alex Monk and Dontrill Hyman recorded nine tackles apiece. The Tigers collected three quarterback sacks and forced three fumbles.

Avent Jr. is looking forward to homefield advantage in the postseason. The Tigers are 8-0 at Bill Taylor Field with Avent Jr. as head coach.

"It's great for the guys to play at home, at least for the first couple weeks," said Avent Jr. "We have been in this position the last two years and our kids know what they need to do."